What should I do if I want to keep my driver`s licence?

Transcription

family
responsibility
office
What should I do if I want to keep
my driver’s licence?
family responsibility office
Important: The information contained in this guide is general information only. It is not legal advice.
You may want to ask a lawyer for help. If you need help finding a lawyer, contact the Lawyer Referral Service
at 1-800-268-8326. You can also contact Legal Aid Ontario at 416-979-1446, or toll-free at 1-800-668-8258.
2
What should I do if I want to keep my driver’s licence?
Inside this Guide:
Why have I received a Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension? . . . . . . . . . . 4
What choices do I have now? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
• Bring your payments up to date.
• Make a payment plan with the Family Responsibility Office. • Get a Refraining Order from the court.
How do I make a motion to the court for a Refraining Order? . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Where can I get more help and information? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Tips for support payors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
What is the Family Responsibility Office? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Glossary: Important terms you should understand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Appendix: Sample forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
• Sample Affidavit (FLR Form 14A)
• Sample Notice of Motion (FLR Form 14) 3
What should I do if I have received a Notice of Default Hearing?
Why have I received a Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension?
If you have not made your support payments, the Family Responsibility Office may begin the
process of suspending your driver’s licence by mailing you a document called a First Notice of
Driver’s Licence Suspension.
When will my driver’s licence be suspended?
Your driver’s licence will be suspended 30 days after the
date of your First Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension.
The deadline date is set out in your notice.
Effective December 2010, drivers whose licences have
been suspended for non-payment of child support
may have the vehicle they are driving impounded by
police for seven days if caught driving with a suspended
licence (Road Safety Act, 2009).
How can I keep my driver’s licence?
If you do not want to lose your driver’s licence, you must take action before the deadline date
set out in your First Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension. There are three ways you can keep
your driver’s licence:
• Immediately pay all the arrears owing.
• Enter into a voluntary arrears payment plan with the Family Responsibility Office.
• Ask the court for a Refraining Order.
Note: A Refraining Order is a court order that prevents the Family Responsibility Office from
suspending your driver’s licence for a temporary period of time. You cannot get a Refraining
Order after the deadline provided in the First Notice has expired.
You can learn more in the next section of this booklet, called “What choices do I have now?”
Myth
The Family Responsibility Office determines the amount of the support payments in a
support order.
Fact
The judge determines the amount of the support payment in a support order. The Family
Responsibility Office ensures that those support payments flow from the payor to the recipient.
4
What choices do I have now?
1. Immediately pay all the arrears owing
You can keep your driver’s licence by paying all of the money you owe. Here’s how:
1. Contact the Family Responsibility Office at 416-326-1817 or toll-free 1-800-267-4330 to
speak to your case contact to find out how much you owe in late payments. Please have
your seven-digit case number ready.
2. Discuss payment methods.
3. Pay the full amount you owe.
Remember, you must still make your support payments every month to avoid receiving
another Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension.
2. Enter into a voluntary arrears payment plan with the Family Responsibility Office
You can keep your driver’s licence by contacting the Family Responsibility Office and working
out a payment agreement. Here’s how:
1. Contact the Family Responsibility Office at 416-326-1817 or toll-free 1-800-267-4330
to speak to your case contact. Please have your seven-digit case number ready.
2. Explain that you are behind in your payments and would like to make a payment plan.
3. The Family Responsibility Office will help you work out a Voluntary Arrears Payment
Schedule.
4. Make your payments.
The Voluntary Arrears Payment Schedule will help you to pay your arrears, but you must
still make your ongoing support payments every month to avoid receiving a Final Notice of
Driver’s Licence Suspension.
5
3.Ask the court for a Refraining Order
You can go to court and ask that your driver’s licence not be suspended. This is called a
Refraining Order.
What is a Refraining Order?
A Refraining Order is an order made by the judge that will require you to start a Motion to
Change your current support order. A Refraining Order may also require you to:
• Provide your financial information to the Family Responsibility Office.
• Make ongoing payments.
• Make payments on the arrears.
If the court issues a Refraining Order, the judge will order the Family Responsibility Office not
to suspend your driver’s licence.
Why would I decide to get a Refraining Order?
Usually, you would decide to get a Refraining Order because:
• You cannot reach a payment agreement with the Family Responsibility Office.
• You believe that the amount of support you pay should be changed.
• You have already applied to change the amount of support you must pay.
How do I get a Refraining Order?
Contact the court as soon as possible, as the refraining motion must be heard before the
deadline set out in the First Notice.
6
How do I make a motion to the court for a Refraining Order?
There are nine steps you must take to make a motion to the court for a Refraining Order. Every
step is important. You can use this simple checklist to be sure you have completed each step.
□Step 1 Find out which court you should be making a motion to.
□Step 2 Gather the information and forms you will need.
□Step 3 Fill out the forms.
□Step 4 Get a hearing date.
□Step 5 Give copies of your forms to the Family Responsibility Office.
□Step 6 File your forms with the court.
□Step 7 Confirm that you will attend court.
□Step 8 Go to court on your hearing date.
□Step 9 Take the steps ordered by the court.
You can also get information on obtaining a motion for a Refraining Order from Family Law
Information Centres located in provincial courts across Ontario. To find the nearest location,
please go to www.ontariocourts.on.ca.
Important Date!
The First Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension that was sent to you in the mail includes a
deadline. If you do not take action (options on page 5 in “What choices do I have now?”)
before this deadline, your driver’s licence will be suspended. If you have received a Final
Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension, you must bring your payments up to date within 15
days or your driver’s licence will be suspended. Making a motion for a Refraining Order is not
an option after you receive a Final Notice. You can check your notice to see if it is a First Notice
or a Final Notice.
7
Step 1 Find out in which court you should be making a motion to
Family law matters, like child support and spousal support, can be heard in one of these courts:
• The Ontario Court of Justice – formerly known as the Ontario Court (Provincial Division)
• The Superior Court of Justice – formerly known as the Ontario Court (General Division)
• The Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice – formerly known as the
Unified Family Court
Normally, you will bring your motion to the same level of court that made your support order.
You can find the name of the court on your support order document. You can bring your
motion to that court, either where you live, or where the person receiving the support lives.
If you do not have a copy of your support order: you can get a copy from the court office. If you do not remember the court where your order was made, you can call the Family
Responsibility Office and ask for that information.
Important to know. You can find a list of Ontario court addresses and phone numbers online
at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca.
Step 2 Gather the information and forms you will need
Before you begin you will need:
• a copy of your First Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension
• a copy of your support order
• your Family Responsibility Office case number (found on the First Notice)
• your court file number (found on the support order)
• two pieces of valid identification, including valid photo identification such as a driver’s
licence, passport or photo health card
8
• a blank Refraining Order (FRO Form 6), available from the Family Responsibility Office
website at ontario.ca/fro
• Financial Statement (FRO Form 4), available from the Family Responsibility Office
website at ontario.ca/fro or Financial Statement (FLR Form 13), available at
www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca
• the following Family Law Rules court forms, which you can get at any family court office,
or online at www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca:
o Notice of Motion (FLR Form 14)
o Affidavit (FLR Form 14A)
o Confirmation (FLR Form 14C)
o Affidavit of Service (FLR Form 6B)
Where to get help
If you need help filling out these forms, you may want to get advice from a lawyer. You can
also visit the Family Law Information Centre (FLIC) at your local family court.
If you do not have a copy of your support order, contact the court at which the order was
made for a copy.
Step 3 Fill out the forms
Notice of Motion Form (FLR Form 14)
This form allows you to tell the judge that you are seeking a Refraining Order to prevent the
suspension of your driver’s licence. It also shows the day and time you will go to court. You will
get this day and time by visiting the family court office later in the process (see Step 4).
Affidavit (FLR Form 14A)
This form allows you to provide your side of the facts, which the judge will use to make a
decision about your motion. It is your chance to tell your story to the judge in a clear and
convincing way. Everything you need to tell the judge must be written down in the Affidavit.
You may not be allowed to tell the judge anything else when you go to court. For that reason,
it is extremely important that the information you provide is:
• accurate and complete
• clear and specific
• detailed enough to provide all the information the judge will need
9
An Affidavit must be sworn or affirmed. When you swear an oath or affirm a document, it
means you are promising that the information in the document is true. You can be charged for
committing a crime if you do not tell the truth when you swear or affirm your Affidavit.
Where can you swear or affirm the Affidavit?
You can swear an oath or affirm your Affidavit in front of a lawyer, a justice of the peace, a
notary public or a commissioner for taking affidavits. You should be able to get this done at a
family court. Be sure to bring two valid pieces of identification with you, including valid photo
identification such as a driver’s licence, passport or photo health card.
Financial Statement (FRO Form 4) or Financial Statement
(FLR Form 13)
You must also fill out and swear or affirm a Financial Statement.
This provides the court with important information about your
finances including:
•
•
•
the amount and sources of your income
the amount of your living expenses
the amount of your assets and debts
To learn more about how to fill out a Financial Statement, visit the website of the Ministry of
the Attorney General to get the publication “A Guide to Procedures in Family Court”. You will
find this guide at: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/guides.
Step 4 Get a hearing date
You must serve the Family Responsibility Office at least four days before your hearing date.
If you have less than four days, be sure to serve the Family Responsibility Office as soon as
possible.
You can call or visit the family court office to get a hearing date for your motion. The hearing
date must be filled in on your Notice of Motion. You may be asked to come to the family court
office in person to get a hearing date. If so, you should bring at least one copy of all your
documents plus the originals.
10
Step 5 Give copies of your forms to the Family Responsibility Office.
Once you have a hearing date for your motion, you will need to provide the Family
Responsibility Office with a copy of your documents. This is an important part of the process.
In legal terms, it is called service. When you serve your forms, you are telling the Family
Responsibility Office what you intend to show in court.
You can serve your forms in two ways:
1. by fax to 416-240-2402
2. by mail or delivery to the:
Legal Services Branch
Family Responsibility Office
Ministry of Community and Social Services
125 Sir William Hearst Avenue, 7th Floor
North York ON M3M 0B5
Note: If you are sending or serving court documents to the Family Responsibility Office,
all documents must include “Legal Services Branch” on the envelope or the front of the
document.
After you have served your forms to the Family Responsibility Office, you must fill out and
swear or affirm an Affidavit of Service (FLR Form 6B). (More information about this form in
Step 3 above.) This form tells the court that you have given a copy of your documents to the
Family Responsibility Office.
Reminder
Your motion must be heard in court before the deadline date on your First Notice of Driver’s
Licence Suspension. Your hearing date cannot be after the deadline date.
11
Step 6 File your forms with the court
You must take your original documents to the court and give them to the family court clerk. In
legal terms, this is called filing. These are the documents you will need to file:
• Notice of Motion
• Affidavit and attached exhibits (see Sample Affidavit in the appendix for instructions)
• Financial Statement
• Affidavit of Service
The court clerk keeps a file on your case called
a Continuing Record. It contains all of the
documents that have been filed on your case,
and a table of contents listing these documents.
The court clerk will ask you to add your
documents to this file, and to update the table
of contents. If no Continuing Record exists you
may be asked by the court clerk to create one.
Step 7 Confirm that you will attend court.
You need to tell the court that you will attend on your hearing date, and that you are ready to
go ahead. You can do this by filling out the Confirmation form (FLR Form 14C). You can fax this
form to the court, or bring the form to the court in person. You must deliver this form to the
court no later than 2:00 in the afternoon, two days before your hearing date. If you miss this
deadline, the court may refuse to hear your motion.
Important Date
You must file your documents with the court at least four days before your court date. If you
no longer have four days, be sure to file your documents as soon as possible.
12
Step 8 Go to court on your hearing date
You should arrive at the court at least 30 minutes before the time of your hearing. Be sure to
bring copies of all of the documents you have filed with the court.
Before your court appearance, you should meet with the Family Responsibility Office lawyer,
who will call your name in the waiting room. The purpose of this meeting is to attempt to
make payment arrangements with the Family Responsibility Office.
If you and the Family Responsibility Office lawyer agree on payment terms, then you will be
able to get a Refraining Order on consent in court. If you do not reach an agreement with the
Family Responsibility Office lawyer, then the judge will make the decision.
If you are given a Refraining Order in court, the judge will require you to start a Motion to
Change your support order. The judge may also impose conditions that you must meet. For
example, the judge may decide that you must:
• provide financial information to the Family Responsibility Office
• make ongoing payments
• make payments on the arrears
How can I start a Motion to Change?
You can learn more about starting a Motion to Change on the Family Responsibility Office
website, under “Information for People Paying Support, How do I change my support order,
end support or lower my payment?”
If you do not have a lawyer, you may want to speak with duty counsel upon your arrival. 
Duty counsel are lawyers paid by Legal Aid Ontario who work in family courts. If you are not
represented by a lawyer, duty counsel can help you by:
• giving you basic legal information and advice
• helping you prepare documents
• assisting you in the courtroom, in some cases
• helping you negotiate settlement terms with the Family Responsibility Office lawyer who
will also be attending court that day
13
Step 9 Take the steps ordered by the court.
If the judge has ordered you to start a Motion to Change your support order, you must
do this within 20 days of receiving the Refraining Order. You will also need to provide the
Family Responsibility Office with a copy of your Motion to Change.
Be sure to do everything the judge may have ordered you to do. For example, the judge
may order that you pay a certain amount of money, or take other steps.
If you do not start a Motion to Change, or take the other steps ordered by the judge, your
Refraining Order will terminate. This means the Family Responsibility Office can suspend
your driver’s licence.
14
Where can I get more help and information?
Driver’s Licence Suspension
Web:
TTY:
Fax: General Information
24-Hour Automated Info Line
F amily Responsibility Office
P.O. Box 200
Station A
Oshawa ON L1H 0C5
Fax:416-240-2407
416-326-1818 
Toll-free: 1-800-267-7263
Court Forms
To speak to your case contact,
Available at the family court office or at
www.ontariocourtforms.ca
ontario.ca/fro
1-866-545-0083
(416) 240-2401
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., call:
416-326-1817 Toll-free:1-800-267-4330
Legislation Available online at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca
Interjurisdictional Support Order Unit
Publications Ontario
ISO Unit
P.O. Box
Toronto ON
Canada
Toronto: 416-240-2410
Toll-free:1-800-463-3533
Toronto: 416-326-5300
Canada:1-800-668-9938
Web: www.publications.gov.on.ca
Legal Information
Family Law Information Centre (FLIC).
Located in your local family court.
Correspondence (not for payments)
Legal Aid Ontario
P.O. Box 200
Station A
Oshawa ON L1H 0C5
Toronto:
Ontario:
Fax: Web: Lawyer Referral Service
Payments (not for letters)
(416) 979-1446
1-800-668-8258
416-979-8669
www.legalaid.on.ca
Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1-800-268-8326
416-947-3330 (within GTA)
P.O. Box 2204
Web: www.lsuc.on.ca
Station P
Toronto ON, M5S 3E9
*Always include your seven-digit case number and first and last name on all payments.
15
Tips for support payors
Here are some tips that will help you avoid problems with your child support or spousal support:
• Pay your support in full and on time to avoid enforcement action.
• Make your support payments through the Family Responsibility Office. Do not pay
the support  recipient directly.
• Always include your seven-digit case number and your first and last name on your
payment and in all communication with the Family Responsibility Office.
• If your financial situation changes, you may wish to contact a lawyer to find out what
your options  are. The Family Responsibility Office cannot change the amount of
support you pay. If you want the amount of support to change, you must commence a
Motion to Change.
• If you fall behind on your payments, you should contact the Family Responsibility
Office to make payment  arrangements with your case contact. You will be asked to fill
out a Financial Statement and a document called a Voluntary Arrears Payment Schedule
(VAPS).
• Tell the Family Responsibility Office about any changes to your name, address or
income source within 10 days to avoid file errors  and possible enforcement action.
• Keep your own records (pay stubs, copies of cancelled cheques, receipts). The Family
Responsibility Office does not provide a year-end  statement for income tax purposes.
• If you believe that your support has ended, you should contact the Family
Responsibility Office.
• If you need a change to your support order, you can get advice from a lawyer, or contact
your  local Legal Aid Office. Look in the Yellow Pages under “legal aid.” You can also
meet with an Advice Lawyer at the family court or visit the Family Law  Information
Centres (FLIC) for help. FLICs are located at all family court locations across Ontario.  For
information on the location of the FLIC nearest you, visit www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca. 
• If you need help finding a lawyer, contact the Lawyer Referral Service for a free half-hour
consultation at 1-800-268-8326.
For updated information on your case, call the Family Responsibility Office automated
information line at 1-800-267-7263, 24  hours a day, seven days a week. Have your Family
Responsibility Office case number and Personal Identification Number (PIN) ready.
16
What is the Family Responsibility Office?
The Family Responsibility Office receives every support order made by an Ontario court. It
enforces these support orders by ensuring that support payments are made. If payments are
not made, the Family Responsibility Office can take legal action.
The Family Responsibility Office enforces domestic contracts as well as court-ordered support.
It is important to understand that the
Family Responsibility Office only enforces
those parts of an order or agreement
dealing with support. The Family
Responsibility Office does not become
involved in child custody or access issues.
The Family Responsibility Office is a
division of the Ministry of Community and
Social Services and operates under the
authority of the Family Responsibility and
Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996.
The Family Responsibility Office also works with enforcement programs in other jurisdictions
that have reciprocal arrangements with Ontario to collect and distribute support payments
in situations where one parent lives outside of Ontario under the authority of the
Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, 2002.
Myth
The judge can change the amount of the support at a Default Hearing.
Fact
The judge cannot change the amount of your support payments at a Default Hearing. If you
want the amount of support to change, you must commence a Motion to Change.
17
Glossary: Important Terms You Should Understand
Arrears:  
Another word for balance owing. It is the amount of support payments that a payor has
missed and owes to a  recipient.
Commissioner for Taking Affidavits:  
A person who is authorized to administer oaths or take affidavits, such as a lawyer, MPP,
municipal official or court  official.
Domestic Contract:  
A legal document in which the support payor and support recipient have agreed on the
amount of support to be  paid.
FLR: 
This acronym stands for Family Law Rules. These Rules are a regulation under the Courts of
Justice Act. The Rules  and the associated forms apply to your Refraining Order.
You can find these Rules online at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca. The forms can be located at
www.ontariocourtforms.on.ca.
Payor: 
The person who is required to pay support under a support order or domestic contract.
Recipient:  
The person who is entitled to receive support under a support order or agreement/domestic
contract.
Refraining Order:
A court order that prevents FRO the Family Responsibility Office from suspending your driver’s
licence for a temporary period of time. You cannot get a Refraining Order after the deadline
provided in the First Notice has expired.
Support Order:  
An order for the payment of money toward the support or maintenance of a child or spouse.
Also includes a  domestic contract requiring support payments that has been filed with the court.
Voluntary Arrears Payment Schedule:  
A plan to repay support arrears (debt) owing to a recipient. The payor proposes the plan. The
Family Responsibility Office reviews it and, if acceptable, agrees to it. The plan is proposed by
the payor and, if acceptable, agreed to by the Family Responsibility Office.
18
19
Appendix: Sample Forms
ONTARIO
(Name of court)
at
Court File Number
Form 14A: Affidavit
(general) dated
Court office address
Applicant(s)
Full legal name & address for service — street & number, municipality,
postal code, telephone & fax numbers and e-mail address (if any).
Lawyer’s name & address — street & number, municipality, postal
code, telephone & fax numbers and e-mail address (if any).
Respondent(s)
My name is (full legal name)
I live in (municipality & province)
and I swear/affirm that the following is true:
Set out the statements of fact in consecutively numbered paragraphs. Where possible, each numbered paragraph should consist of
one complete sentence and be limited to a particular statement of fact. If you learned a fact from someone else, you must give that
person’s name and state that you believe that fact to be true.
FLR 14A (September 1, 2005)
Page 1 of 2
20
Form 14A:
Affidavit (general) dated
(page 2)
Court File Number
Put a line through any blank space left on this page.
Sworn/Affirmed before me at
in
on
municipality
province, state, or country
Signature
date
Commissioner for taking affidavits
(Type or print name below if signature is illegible.)
FLR 14A (September 1, 2005)
(This form is to be signed in front of a
lawyer, justice of the peace, notary public
or commissioner for taking affidavits.)
Page 2 of 2
21
Appendix: Sample Forms
ONTARIO
(Name of court)
at
Court File Number
Form 14: Notice of
Motion
Court office address
Applicant(s)
Respondent(s)
The person making this
motion or the person’s
lawyer must contact the
clerk of the court by
telephone or otherwise
to choose a time and
date when the court
could hear this motion.
TO THE PARTIES:
THE COURT WILL HEAR A MOTION on (date)
at
, or as soon as possible after that time, at (place of hearing)
This motion will be made by (name of person making the motion)
who will be asking the court for an order for the item(s) listed on page 2 of this notice.
A copy of the affidavit(s) in support of this motion is/are served with this notice.
A notice of a case conference is served with this notice to change an order.
If this material is missing, you should talk to the court office immediately.
The person making this motion is also relying on the following documents in the continuing record: (List documents.)
If you want to oppose this motion or to give your own views, you should talk to your own lawyer and prepare your own
affidavit, serve it on all other parties not later than 4 days before the date above and file it at the court office not later 2
days before that date. Only written and affidavit evidence will be allowed at a motion unless the court gives permission
for oral testimony. You may bring your lawyer to the motion.
IF YOU DO NOT COME TO THE MOTION, THE COURT MAY MAKE AN ORDER WITHOUT YOU AND ENFORCE
IT AGAINST YOU.
Date of signature
Signature of person making this motion or of person’s lawyer
Typed or printed name of person or of person’s lawyer, address for
service, telephone & fax numbers and e-mail address (if any)
NOTE TO PERSON MAKING THIS MOTION: You MUST file a confirmation (Form 14C) not later than 2:00 p.m. 2 days before the
date set out above.
If this is a motion to change past and future support payments under an order that has been assigned to a government agency, you
must also serve this notice on that agency. If you do not, the agency can ask the court to set aside any order that you may get in
this motion and can ask for costs against you.
FLR 14 (June 15, 2007)
Page 1 of 2
22
Form 14:
Notice of Motion
(page 2)
Court File Number
State the order or orders requested on this motion.
FLR 14 (June 15, 2007)
Page 2 of 2
23

What should I do if I want to keep my driver`s licence?

Transcription

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